The Devil In Me
by insanemonkeyboy
Summary: Zeref is defeated. But Natsu is E.N.D.? A certain ice devil slayer doesn't handle the news very well. What does he do, and how does Fairy Tail respond? Rated T for swearing and suggestive situations. NAMIZAWEN


**I don't own Fairy Tail. Mashima owns it.

This was originally planned to be Namiza. But sometimes characters have a mind of their own... so yeah - still mainly Namiza, but eventual Namizawen.

Written to be a one-shot, but may write a part 2 later to resolve a couple of the major issues**

* * *

It was over. Fairy Tail had won, somehow. Zeref's magic had been restrained. His forces conquered. The black mage now faced years in a specially designed cell that would keep his magic from leaking out.

But for Gray Fullbuster the battle wasn't over. Zeref may have been subdued, but lurking out there somewhere was the strongest creature Zeref created. The demon responsible for the pain and suffering of so many Fairy Tail members. The demon that was ultimately responsible for his father's death. His mother's death. His teacher's death. The demon that was very nearly responsible for the destruction of Fairy Tail.

"I will find you, END…" Gray swore quietly as they began to lead Zeref away. The last to remain watching the scene as the rest of the guild had gone to party. "And when I do, I swear you will die by my hand."

Suddenly time seemed to stand still and a voice – Zeref's voice – spoke in his mind. "I could tell you who E.N.D. is, devil slayer."

Gray's blood boiled within him at the voice. Why would he accept any help from this man? There's no way Zeref would help him find and kill the black mage's greatest creation. What was in it for him?

"That's simple," the voice spoke directly to his mind again. "Revenge. You see, E.N.D. isn't a name – it's initials. He's not some far away monster that nobody's ever seen either. In fact, he's closer to you than you would ever believe."

There was a pause as Gray eyed the black wizard suspiciously, then the voice continued. "But I created E.N.D. for one purpose. And now he abandoned that purpose. A tool that will not serve is a useless tool. Unfortunately, I'm powerless to stop him as things stand now. But that doesn't mean I don't want to see him punished for his disobedience."

The new information made Gray hesitate. He hated the thought of helping Zeref, but at the same time he wanted nothing more than to see E.N.D. die. Besides, if he killed the strongest demon in the books of Zeref he would be doing the world a favor. He'd be saving thousands more from suffering and death. If the cost was accepting aid from the black wizard, it was a small price to pay.

"Fine," he gritted out, certain somehow that the black mage would hear him even though he spoke in a whisper. "What's his name?"

"I'll give you two clues," Zeref's voice said, and Gray could see him continuing to smirk as the council members put him in their transport wagon. "The first initial is his race – Etherious. The last is his last name, which is the same as mine. He was my brother, after all. Once you figure out my last name, you'll know exactly who E.N.D. is."

"Why can't you just tell me outright?" Gray thought, frustrated and annoyed at the riddle.

"What would be the fun in that?" Came the response, and then he felt the connection close.

Frustrated, Gray went to the only place he knew might have the answer. The guild library.

After two hours of scouring every book he found that he thought might help him find the answer, Gray fell back, his eyes almost closing. Damn that Zeref. He would never be able to figure out his last name, or his brother's for that matter. Any record of his family name or history was long since lost.

Just then an unexpected visitor wandered into the library. The guild's first master – Mavis Vermillion. Gray looked up, wondering what brought her here in the middle of the celebration. Shouldn't she be in the middle of it, especially since she was now alive again?

"First master," he inclined his head respectfully as he addressed her. "Why aren't you with the others?"

Mavis came close to him and sat down at a table, staring at him with those piercing green eyes. "I can tell when something is troubling one of my children. So tell me, what has you so worked up Gray Fullbuster?"

Gray sighed. He was about to shrug it off and try to get rid of her when he suddenly remembered that the first had a little bit of a history with Zeref. So instead he decided he would use her to find his answer. She might not know the dark wizard's last name, but at least she would be able to tell him where to find it.

But he had to be careful. If he let on his true intent, she might not be forthright with him. After all, if she knew Zeref, maybe she knew E.N.D. too and would want to protect him.

"Well," he said quietly, looking down at his feet. "I was hoping to find some information on Zeref's last name…"

As he suspected, that put her on the alert. "Why would you care about Zeref's last name?"

"Well you see… He told me something about his last name…. And I wanted to see if it was true or not…" Gray continued to look at his feet. "I was hoping I could find something to verify what he told me."

He remained silence, hoping against hope that his ploy would work as the first master continued to stare at him. Finally, after several long moments of silence, she spoke.

"I don't know if this is the best thing to do, but if it will help bring you peace I think it's my only choice. Zeref never told me his last name, but long ago I was interested in discovering it so I did some research. I almost gave up, but after months of reading every historical book I could find I discovered one that contained Zeref's family name…. Dragneel."

Gray's eyes widened in shock. Dragneel? Etherious? There was only one being alive who could fit that name. The demon from the book of Zeref that Igneel couldn't conquer. The one that had been the source of his pain. Of the guild's pain. He'd been right there in front of him the whole time. Without another word he rushed from the library into the guild hall, knowing exactly where to find his target as his ice devil slayer magic activated.

 **~~~~~~Erza's POV~~~~~~**

Erza leaned back against the bar, watching in amusement as Natsu, Elfman, Gajeel, and several others tumbled about in a flurry of fists. The dragon slayer was having the time of his life, despite having almost died in the final battle against Zeref.

Suddenly the temperature plummeted, and Erza shivered in her armor. They were in the middle of summer here. What was going on that suddenly made it so cold? She looked up to see Gray emerging from the library, his eyes set and hard and his devil slayer magic fully activated. Most of the members of the brawl stopped as well, backing away from the ice mage. The only one who remained was Natsu.

"Oi stripper, what's got your panties all in a bunch?" Natsu asked with a smirk.

"Ice devil's rage." Gray spoke the words quietly, menacingly as he advanced toward Natsu, and a cone of icy breath escaped his mouth, hitting the dragon slayer full on. The attack blew him back to the wall of the guild, where he fell to the floor.

"Gray! What do you think you're doing?!" Erza yelled as Gray continued his steady advance.

Natsu jumped back to his feet, his eyes suddenly angry. "What the fuck was that for popsicle?"

"You." Gray glared at him. "I've spent my whole life hunting you down, and all this time you've been right here in front of my face." A sword of ice formed in his hand and he hit Natsu hard with it, knocking him back into the wall again.

Erza watched as Natsu's eyes lost their anger and became sorrowful instead. Gray continued his advance, killing intent in his eyes. "Gray, what's going on?!" Erza yelled.

"Why don't you tell them, Natsu?" Gray spat, not turning to look at her. "Why don't you tell them the truth about who you are? About your brother? About yourself? You're neither a human nor a dragon, are you Natsu?" He paused for a minute before adding in icy tones "Or should I say Etherious Natsu Dragneel?"

A collective gasp went up from the guild, and Erza felt her jaw drop despite herself. Natsu was E.N.D.? There was no way that could be true! E.N.D. was the most evil demon from the books of Zeref. He was responsible for the murder of hundreds – even thousands of life. He was a cruel, ruthless, powerful being that not even the great Igneel could defeat. That couldn't be Natsu, could it? And why wasn't Natsu denying it? Why wasn't he even trying to fight back? He was just standing there, watching his attacker with sadness as he approached and started his next spell.

"Ice devil's killing strike!"

Suddenly time seemed to slow down as Erza's heart jumped to her throat. Natsu was about to die! Just because he wouldn't do anything to defend himself or even evade his attacker. She leapt into action, speeding toward him as fast as she could, a scream tearing from her throat as she already saw that she was going to be too late. Icy blades enveloped Gray's hands, which dove into the dragon slayer, piercing his finely toned chest and his heart. She got there just as the ice mage withdrew his blades, leaving the blood spurting from the dragon slayer's body.

"NATSU!" She fell on him, her eyes flooding with tears as her arms wrapped around him, pulling him close to her. "You can't die Natsu! Wake up! You can't leave me!" His blood was flowing from his chest onto her shirt, the crimson liquid staining the blue shirt a dark purple.

She still couldn't believe this was happening. She always said she'd thought of the dragon slayer as a younger brother, but now that she held his dead body in her arms she realized how much more he really meant to her. This hurt even more than the council leading Jellal away to prison. More than Simon's death at the tower of heaven. There was only one thing that could cause this much pain, and she could only weep that she'd realized her feelings so late.

"Gray Fullbuster!" The voice of the first master came from the front of the guild, dark and serious. "Explain why you betrayed the guild this way!"

"You know as well as I do, Mavis." He spat. "You knew all along, didn't you? You knew that Zeref's most powerful demon was living here among us. And yet you never did anything about it. You didn't even tell us."

"Natsu can't be E.N.D.!" Lucy's voice rose up from a table nearby. "He would never cause as much pain and suffering as that demon has! Tell him, First Master!"

Mavis raised her hand, her narrowed eyes focused on Gray. "You're both right, in a way," she said quietly, yet her voice commanded the attention of the entire guild. "Natsu was E.N.D., or Etherious Natsu Dragneel. He was Zeref's younger brother, resurrected as an etherious by the black wizard who couldn't let him go after he died."

"But Lucy is also right," she added. "Natsu could never, and never did, commit the atrocities that were attributed to him. Natsu emerged from the eclipse gate with the other dragon slayers in the year x777, and was exactly as Makarov found him. A child, lost, abandoned by the only family he'd ever known. E.N.D., the demon that Igneel couldn't kill, not because he was too powerful, but because he loved him too much."

"But…" Gray was beginning to pale. "Even Mard Geer said Tartarus was formed by E.N.D."

"Mard Geer lied because he knew the only thing that would make the other Etherious listen to him was the name of E.N.D.. Natsu never formed Tartarus, nor did he have any part in it." Mavis said. "In fact, Natsu didn't even know his own identity as E.N.D. till he encountered Zeref in the war that we just finished. And even knowing that, he didn't change. He fought to protect Fairy Tail as he always has for his family."

Erza clung to the dragon slayer's body, tears still spilling down her cheeks. Every fiber of her being was screaming at her to kill Gray at that moment, but she held herself back. She knew that if she did that she would be no better than him. But it was tearing her apart, knowing that Natsu's killer was right there in front of her and she wasn't able to do anything about it.

Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder, and Mira's shaky voice sounded from beside her. "Wendy, can you heal Natsu's body?"

"Mira," Wendy said between sobs. "Natsu-san is g-g-gone. H-healing his b-b-body won't bring him back…"

"Can you do it?!" Mirajane demanded, her voice uncharacteristically harsh.

"Y-yes…" Wendy stammered, "b-but it w-won't—"

"Then heal him," Mirajane said quietly.

Wendy apparently saw that Mira wasn't going to take no for an answer, so she came forward and put her hands over Natsu's wound. Erza watched as the flesh slowly knit itself back together, till no trace remained of the wound that had taken his life. When she'd finished, Wendy collapsed on his body, which Erza was still holding, tears streaming down her face.

Suddenly Mirajane grabbed Natsu's body and pulled it from their grasp before Erza could react. The demoness then left with Natsu's body, running from the guild. After Erza got over her shock, she chased her, following her till she reached her house. Then inside all the way to Mira's room.

She caught the door to the room just before it slammed shut, opening it again and coming in. She was surprised when Wendy slipped in just behind her. She hadn't noticed the younger girl following them, but she apparently managed to keep pace.

"Mira," she growled as the silvery-white haired demon of Fairy Tail laid the dragon slayer on her bed. "What are you doing?"

Mirajane ignored her, climbing up on top of Natsu's body and laying on him, her face only inches away from his. Erza heard her speak, and her eyes widened in shock as she picked out the words the she-devil recited.

"Take Over Soul Release – Etherious Natsu Dragneel!"

With those words she pressed her lips against his open mouth, breathing gently into him. Erza waited breathlessly for a few minutes, then suddenly Natsu gasped, his body jerking under Mirajane, and his eyes fluttered open.

"Mira?" He asked, confused. "How?..."

"I took over you at the last moment," Mira answered, tears dripping on the dragon slayer's chest. "I was so afraid it wasn't going to work… but I thought if you were an etherious maybe it would… and it did…"

"Natsu!" Erza yelled as she jumped on him, pushing Mira out of the way. "Why? Why didn't you fight back?! I thought I lost you Natsu!"

Natsu groaned as she beat on his chest. "I couldn't fight back… if that's what he wanted, he had every right to destroy me…"

Mira slapped him, hard, and Erza quickly followed suit. "Don't you ever say that!" She yelled, angry that he would even suggest such a thing. "What about how I would feel?"

"And me," Mira's voice came from beside her. "You can't die Natsu… I – I love you!"

Erza gasped in shock, her eyes widening at her best friend's confession. "You too?!" She blurted before she could stop herself.

"Too?" Mirajane's blue orbs widened as she returned the stare. "You mean?..."

Erza nodded her head, ashamed it had taken her so long to realize it.

"Since when?!" Mira almost yelled. "I thought you loved Jellal!"

Erza frowned. "I may have in the past," she said. "I thought I still did, but in reality that was just me trying to hold on to my childhood, when my childhood was long gone. Honestly it took this idiot dying for me to see it."

"Umm…" A small voice interrupted from next to the bed. "I'm also in love with Natsu-san…"

Mira and Erza both turned to the young dragon slayer, who was staring at the floor. "I kept telling myself it was just a brother-sister love," she said quietly. "But when I saw him d-die I knew that wasn't true."

There were a few minutes of silence as Erza contemplated her next move. She wanted Natsu, but she certainly didn't want to hurt Mirajane, or Wendy for that matter.

"What do we do about this?" She asked quietly, snuggling into Natsu as she lay on the bed.

"I don't know," Mirajane was snuggling against his other side. "But I'm not willing to give up."

"Me neither," Erza replied, steel in her voice.

"Umm…" Wendy's timid voice came from next to the bed again. "There may be a way that this can work out for all of us…"

Erza turned her gaze to Wendy, seeing Mirajane turn at the same time. "Do tell, Wendy."

"Well," Wendy fidgeted with her hair. "It probably wouldn't work with most people, but I think Natsu's got a big enough heart that we can share him."

"Share?" Erza's eyes widened as she looked at the girl. Was she implying such perverted things at a young age? "Wendy, I'm shocked!"

Wendy's hands waved back and forth furiously. "I'm not talking about doing _that_ yet – well, me anyway. I know you're both old enough. But I just mean that, well, Natsu's the kind of person who could have more than one mate and love them all equally. He wouldn't have favorites, if you know what I mean."

Erza and Mira looked at the dragon slayer, who had fallen asleep (or been knocked out when Erza was beating on him). Wendy may have a point on that front.

"It would definitely be hard to get used to the idea…" Erza said, staring at Mirajane. "But I would be willing to try it if you would."

"I'm not giving Natsu up," Mira said, returning the stare with equal intensity. "Which means giving this a try is probably the best way."

"Great!" Wendy squealed happily from the floor. "We can share Natsu then! Though I wonder how the guild would react to Natsu having 3 girlfriends." She blushed fiercely.

Erza turned to the young dragon slayer. "Umm, Wendy… Maybe we should only _tell_ them he has 2 girlfriends right now… We wouldn't want people getting the wrong idea."

"B-but…" The younger dragon slayer stammered, the smile slowly disappearing from her face.

"Don't worry," Erza sighed. "We're not trying to cut you out of the picture. In a couple years you'll turn 16, and then you can become 'official,' but until then people in the guild might think badly of Natsu and us. They would have trouble understanding that your relationship with Natsu isn't on the same level yet…"

"I don't think they would," said the young dragon slayer stubbornly. "At least, no more than they would have trouble understanding that Natsu has more than one girlfriend."

Erza frowned. She did have a point there. But she didn't want people to think Natsu was doing anything indecent with Wendy, or that she would be ok with such a thing. She looked over to see Mirajane, who seemed to be considering as well. Finally she came to a decision.

"Well," she said with a smile to the dragon slayer. "We'll just have to make it very clear that your relationship is strictly platonic right now."

Wendy nodded, climbing up on the bed, making herself comfortable on top of Natsu since there was no room for anyone else. Soon the emotional exhaustion of the day overcame them and they all fell asleep, snuggled up on Mira's queen-sized bed.

*KNOCK KNOCK* "MIRA-NEE! ANSWER ME OR I'M COMING IN!"

Mira rubbed her eyes as she awakened, wondering what could be so important that her sister was knocking on her door. She was laying against something warm. Warm and sculpted skin, her head laying on a finely toned chest. Blue hair brushed gently against her face, tickling her nose and cheek as a cute yawn sounded from Wendy.

Wait, Wendy? Mira blinked, her eyes snapping open to take in the scene on her bed. Natsu was occupying the middle of the bed, apparently still fast asleep with Wendy stirring on his chest. Slowly the events of a couple hours ago came back to her, and she was about to call out to Lisanna when the door burst open.

"Mira, everyone at the guild wants to know—" She stopped in midsentence and gasped, her hand covering her mouth.

"Oh... Lisanna," Mirajane said sleepily. "How long have I been asleep?"

"No more than an hour," Lisanna said in a dull monotone, her eyes still wide as she looked at the group. "People are angry that you took Natsu's body…"

"Well, as you can see that won't be a problem when we explain," Mira said with a smile. "Although the rest of what happened might be a little harder to explain."

"I'll say," Lisanna's voice lost its monotone as she began to emerge from her initial state of shock. "Natsu dies at the guild. You make Wendy heal his body and run off with it, and I come home to find you, Erza, and even little Wendy sleeping with him? What the fuck happened exactly?"

"Well… I was able to take over Natsu just before Gray killed him." Mira explained. "And his body had to be healed because I can only restore a soul that I take over if I have the body and it's physically in good condition."

"So why bring him back to our house?" Lisanna asked, still frowning.

"For a little privacy of course," Mira said. Then she added, "plus, I wasn't 100% sure it would work…"

"You weren't sure it would work?!" Lisanna shrieked.

"Well, I'd never done it before." Mira said. "I knew it would work in theory…"

"But still, you weren't sure? Natsu could've ended up nothing but another take-over!"

"It was better than letting Gray kill him," Mira defended. "I didn't see anyone else coming through with a better idea."

By this time the others had all awakened, and Natsu sat up, forcing Wendy into his lap and causing the younger dragon slayer to blush. "Yeah Lis," he said with a smile. "I'm alive, thanks to her. It worked out in the end, so why fret over what could have been?"

"Ugh…" Erza sat up as well. "How long were we asleep?"

"Not long," Mira said. "But I think we should go to the guild now. If you're all up to it, of course" she added.

"Might as well get it over with," Erza responded. "Right Natsu?"

"I'm all fired up," the dragon slayer grinned.

"Fine…" Lisanna sighed in defeat as the group got up and headed to the guild. Mira was on Natsu's right arm, Erza on his left, and Wendy walked just in front of them.

"WE'RE BACK!" Natsu yelled, kicking the doors down.

The effect was fairly predictable. Dead silence, all around. For several minutes.

Then the questions all started at once.

"How are you not dead?!"

"Where did you go for the last hour?!"

"Why are you holding our Mira's hand?" Macao and Wakaba asked together.

"Why are you holding Erza's hand?" Another member asked.

"NATSU!" Happy dove into the dragon slayer's arms.

"What are you doing with them Wendy?" Carla asked.

"Alright," Mira called out. "Quiet down and I'll explain what happened."

So she explained once again how she had managed to take over Natsu before Gray landed his killing strike, and how she was able to restore the soul because his body was still available and in good condition. When she was done, there were murmurs throughout the whole guild.

"That explains how he's alive," Macao said, "but it doesn't explain why he's holding Mira's and Erza's hands."

"Yeah, what's that all about?" Someone else echoed.

"I'm actually curious myself," Makarov said from the front.

"Well," Mira said with a slight blush. "When Natsu… died, some of us came to an important realization. Well, when I say some of us I mean Erza and Wendy. I already knew I loved Natsu before Gray killed him."

"Sis?" Elfman said, surprised. "You never said anything to us about it."

"Of course not," Mira said. "But more importantly, when we realized our situation, we came to an agreement. And that is that we're all Natsu's girlfriends."

"Wait, you are?" Natsu blinked. And just at that moment Mira remembered that Natsu was already asleep when the three of them had their conversation about sharing.

"Yes Natsu," she said with a slight smirk. "Unless, of course, you don't want us."

"Umm…" Natsu stammered, looking from her to Erza to Wendy. "Well, Wendy's a bit young still, but… I do love all of you…"

"We know that silly," Erza cut in. "And of course Wendy won't be doing anything sexual with you for a few years," she said the last part loudly so the guild would hear her. "But that doesn't mean she can't still be a girlfriend while she waits, does it?"

"Of-of course not," Natsu said quickly.

"Good," Erza smiled. "Then it's official. We'll start planning our dating schedule immediately."

"Dating schedule?" Natsu said, sounding confused.

"Of course," Mira said with a smile. "That's a brilliant idea. You'll have to spend one on one time with all of us you know."

"Umm… ok," Natsu said, still sounding a little confused.

"Don't worry Natsu," Erza said with a smirk. "We'll work it all out for you. All you have to do is listen to what we tell you."

"Ok." Natsu said with his signature grin. "That's easy then."

"NATSU!" Roared Elfman, charging the dragon slayer. "It's not manly to date my sister!"

Mirajane moved quickly, intercepting the punch. "Are you saying you don't want me to be happy, Elf nii-san?" She said, making her eyes as wide as possible as a couple tears leaked out.

"N-no nee-chan! Don't cry!" Elfman stuttered, his eyes widening as he stepped back. "But – he's dating Erza and Wendy too."

"Of course he is," Mira said, her smile instantly returning. "That's what we agreed on."

Elfman stared at her for several long minutes before backing down, muttering something about 'not manly' as he headed away.

"Gihi, you know what's not manly Elfman? Making your sister cry." Gajeel smirked.

"I'll show you what it means to be a man!" Elfman shouted, clobbering him with a beast arm take over.

And a brawl started again.

 **~~~~~~Meanwhile, in Makarov's Office~~~~~~**

"But he's a demon, first master," Gray almost yelled. His black markings were covering his full arm and most of his torso and neck now. "He shouldn't even be alive."

"Natsu didn't choose the life he has now," Mavis said, her voice firm. "But he's done the best he can with it."

"He's a demon from the books of Zeref," Gray insisted stubbornly. "His very existence means people are in danger."

"Gray, you have two options," Mavis said, her green eyes set hard as she looked at him. "You can either accept Natsu Dragneel, as an etherious, as part of Fairy Tail, or you can leave Fairy Tail, willingly or not."

"Hmph. You may be the founder, but you're not the master right now." Gray said, his blood still boiling. "Makarov will be sure to listen to reason."

"Makarov will listen to me," Mavis said quietly. "But, Gray, do you know what devil slayer magic is?"

"The power to slay demons," Gray replied, smirking. "Which is exactly what I intend to do now."

"Yes, but like dragon slayer magic, the devil slayer magic uses the magic of demons." Mavis said. "That means that, like it or not, you are now by virtue of your magic part demon. Just as Natsu, Wendy, and Gajeel are all part dragon because of the magic residing in them."

"That's different, though." Gray growled. "Natsu's always been a demon."

"No, not always," Mavis said sadly. "Natsu was born human, just like the rest of us. His brother may have resurrected him as a demon, but he's more human than many mages I've seen."

"If only Mira hadn't saved him," Gray muttered, glaring at the ground.

"If Mira hadn't saved him we'd be having a very different conversation right now," Mavis replied, her eyes hardening more. "You need to control that demon part of yourself, Gray. Your heart has always walked the line between light and darkness. Now that you have demon magic in you, you are on a precipice. Be careful that your thirst for demon's blood doesn't drive you to become what you hate."

"Are we done here?" Gray asked, tired of being lectured by the young first master.

"We are, but your next move will be determined by your answer. Will you accept Natsu as part of Fairy Tail and not try to kill him?"

"I guess I don't have a choice." Gray muttered.

"Good," Mavis said. "But in case you're thinking of killing him in a roundabout way, you should know this. Any time that Natsu Dragneel is injured, no matter what the circumstances, I will investigate thoroughly, with all my deductive skill. And if I find out that you were involved, you will be banished from Fairy Tail."

"Understood." Gray growled as he got up and strode out the door, carefully avoiding the dragon slayer who was now at the bar with Wendy sitting near him. As he was leaving, he was met by Erza, her jaw set and her brown eyes hard.

"I will not be as forgiving as Natsu," she said, her tone like steel. "I watched you kill the man I love. Attack him when he didn't even try to defend himself. And I see no remorse in your eyes. Do not expect me to forgive that."

"You know I've always loved you Erza," Gray said, deciding to ignore her speech and get right to the point. "So that's just one more reason for me to hate him."

Erza looked surprised, then just shook her head. "You didn't love me, Gray. You wanted me, maybe, but that was it. Even the fact that you see that as a reason to hate him is evidence of that. Natsu's never done anything to hurt me. And if I were in love with you, or Jellal as I thought I was, he wouldn't have hated either of you. He would've been sad, but he certainly wouldn't hate me."

"I don't see how you can love a demon," Gray responded, trying to reason with her. Why shouldn't he hate Natsu for taking the one he loved? It was only natural, especially considering the one who posed as his long time friend and guild member was actually the vilest demon from the books of Zeref.

"I was shocked to hear it at first," Erza said. "But it doesn't matter whether he's an etherious or a human, he's still Natsu. You call him a demon, but he's only ever been honest and protective toward other guild members. He even forgave you when you tricked him into being used as a magic source for that mechanical dragon. And then you somehow hear that he's E.N.D. and you instantly try to kill him. Regardless of your respective races, you're the one behaving more like a demon."

"How dare you?" Gray hissed. "You defend that etherious and then dare to compare me to it? E.N.D. was the cause of all my suffering. Even my father wanted it found and destroyed. And now that I have the demon in front of me my own guild is stopping me from carrying out justice."

"What justice?" Erza snapped. "You call it justice to kill Natsu because people _thought_ he did horrible things? Because atrocities were attributed to him by their real perpetrators? You heard First Master! Natsu never did any of those things, and yet you're still ready to condemn him just because of _what_ he is."

She took a step closer. "Well, listen up. Natsu may not fight for his own life against you, but from today on you can be sure that either Mirajane, Wendy, or I will be by his side every minute of the day. And none of us will hesitate to defend him by any means necessary."

"Pfff. So flame-brain's that kind of a pervert," he said. "Even knowing how perverted you are, I'm surprised you'd stand for that kind of a relationship with a little girl."

Erza glared at him. "You know that both Mira and I would be the first to beat the shit out of him if he so much as thought about doing anything inappropriate with Wendy at her age, but she wants to be with Natsu while they wait for her to be older, and there's nothing wrong with that."

"Whatever," Gray scowled. "I'm going to find a mission that will keep me away for a while."

"Very well," Erza said, stepping out of his way. "Perhaps some time away will help you remember who you are."

"I think I know myself better than anyone." With that he strode past her to the job request board, finding a quest that looked like it might take a good while.

 **~~~~~~NaZa~~~~~~**

Erza sighed as she watched Gray depart, troubled by the exchange. She remembered the warnings that if he wasn't careful the devil slayer magic could negatively impact his personality. She hoped that he would be able to overcome the darkness that was in him before long.

But now she had other matters to attend to. After the ice mage was out of the guild, she rejoined Natsu, Wendy, and Mirajane at the bar. By this time the questions had stopped coming, and Mira and Wendy were looking a little drained.

"Maybe we should head out," Erza said with a soft smile. "I think we've all had a rough day."

"Maybe some of us can have a rough night," Mira said, a devilish smirk coming to her beautiful face.

"B-but… We just started dating," Erza said, blushing furiously at the implications.

"You don't have to join if you don't want to," Mira said as she leaned down, showing a generous portion of cleavage to the dragon slayer.

"I…" Erza trailed off. There was no way Mira was getting a step ahead of her in this relationship. "Sorry Wendy, but you're going to need to be out of the room for at least an hour tonight."

"Y-yes Erza-san," the girl replied, looking at her toes.

"Alright – let's get our dragon home then!" Mira and Erza grabbed Natsu's arms and started pulling him from the guild, Wendy, Carla, and Happy following close behind.

And it was almost 3 hours before Wendy dared return to their shared room that night.

* * *

So there it is... Read and Review please!


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